THE BG NEWS ESTABLISHED 1920 | An independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
VOLUME 94, ISSUE 3
giving victims
WWW.BGNEWS.COM
A CHOICE
New bill changes college polices, seeks to curb sexual assault through legislation By Seth Weber City Editor
See ASSAULT | Page 3
Sexual Assault Stats:
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1 in 5 women has been sexually assaulted while in college 80 percent of female victims are raped before the age of 25. 2007 study found that 58 percent of incapacitated rapes and 28 percent of forced rapes occurred at parties. 12 percent of victims report being sexually assaulted 2013 study: 12 percent of 283,200 rape or sexual assault victimizations between 2005-2010 ended in an arrest at the scene or during an investigation. 2010 study: 2-10 percent of reported rapes are false
Program has successes, failures By Ashley Hardwick In Focus Editor
Of the 3,300 freshmen enrolled last fall, 2,500 were part of a linked course. Linked courses are a type of learning community wherein first-year students are enrolled in two classes that are “linked,” allowing professors and students to collaborate. “Our definition of being in a link is if [enrolled freshmen] are in more than two of the same classes,” Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs Rich Rowlands said. The idea of “linking” courses came about last fall and its original goal was to connect students academically. “When you see people you know, you can imagine what possibilities there are,” Susan Kleine, associate vice provost for undergraduate education said. “We’ve heard nothing negative from students and faculty. Why would anyone complain?” Linking students in a few of the same courses allows them to recognize their classmates and plan study groups. “Sometimes faculty can coordinate together and embrace their ideas,” Kleine said. “A lot of professors [last year] made their students look around the room and see if they recognized people.” Rowlands says professors were “pleasantly surprised” when their students already knew one another, when they are typically silent the first week of classes. While there were no complaints, the success of the linked courses did not go quite as planned.
The Campus Accountability and Safety Act, a bipartisan bill recently proposed which seeks to curb sexual assault on college campuses, could affect the University’s approach to sexual assault in the near future. This bill asks universities to publish annual anonymous surveys online regarding sexual assault. It also requires schools to designate “confidential advisors” who will help victims and will not allow universities to punish students who were drinking underage during the time of their assault. Sexual assault is often not reported, Director of Wellness Faith Yingling said. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, even when it is reported arrests are not often made. According to the survey, about 12 percent of reported rapes ended in an arrest. Similarly, according to a City of Bowling Green Police crime report, of the 54 reported rapes, six arrests were made between January 2012 and June 2014, putting the city at about an 11 percent arrest rate for rape. University Police Chief Monica Moll said the reason for the low number of arrests is that it’s difficult to get evidence and make a conviction, often because there are only two people involved: the offender and the victim. “You have two people in a room and they only know what happened,” she said. Timely reporting of sexual assault is key to getting sufficient evidence, Moll said. Julie Broadwell, director of the SAAFE Center, thinks this bill could help
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University continues linked courses
Stats come from: www.whitehouse.gov
See LINKED | Page 7
Events hosted Labor Day weekend University encourages students to stay on campus By Kendra Clark Campus Editor
As the first week of classes draws closer and the first three-day weekend is near, first year students may be tempted to travel back home for the holiday. Knowing this, University Activities Organization (UAO) and the University are putting together a weekend-long event going from Friday, Aug. 29 to Sunday, Aug. 31 called “Labor Play.” “This idea goes back to the early part of the summer,” said Dean of Students Jodi Webb. “There were conversations about the fact that we have a three day weekend the first weekend of classes.” She said even though the University found many students did stay last year, they wanted to promote students to stay this year even more. “We don’t want the students to arrive then already head back now,” she said. UAO Vice President of Operations Rachel Sieracke said the goal of the “Labor Play” is to try and encourage students to
make connections. “If they make a connection their first weekend, then they are more likely to stay the second weekend and so on,” she said. “If they make friends, they are more likely to stay.” To start off the weekend, there will be a football watch party on Friday called the Return of the Champs. The watch party will be at the Stroh starting at 7:30 p.m. “It’s on a mega screen in the Stroh,” Sieracke said. “In the dorms, you don’t get the channel the game is on, so it’s only available at the Stroh.” There is also free food, prizes and different organizations there to meet, she said. On Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. is the Club Jerome Bash. It will be on the sixth floor of the library and there will be activities like corn hole, DJ, pizza and a photo booth. “The idea is to get the first years into the library because if they go there for fun, then they are more likely to come back,” Sieracke said.
BG TO ADD DIVE TEAM
This year’s swimming team will include a newly added diving team. Read more, including students’ opinions on the new addition. | PAGE 6
See PLAY | Page 7
TRAVIS WILLHOITE | THE BG NEWS
THE RESIDENT Student Assocation hosted a casino night in the union ballroom on Tuesday. The event lasted from eight to 11 p.m.
THE WHOLE PICTURE
Columnist Phil Schurrer discusses the importance of knowing every aspect of a situation before posting it on social media. | PAGE 4
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR LABOR DAY? “Hang out with friends on campus and eat ice cream” Maria Schumacher Sophomore, Middle Childhood Education